


You'll Know When The Test Starts

by raggirare



Category: Free!
Genre: Bullying, Homophobia, Homophobic Language, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-01
Updated: 2014-08-01
Packaged: 2018-02-11 08:53:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,141
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2061825
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/raggirare/pseuds/raggirare
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>As if coming out to your parents and introducing your boyfriend to them wasn't already hard enough for a teenage boy.</p>
            </blockquote>





	You'll Know When The Test Starts

“Momo-“

“I said get off of me!”

Introducing a new significant other to your parents was always something nerve-wracking and anxiety-inducing for every couple and, in a country with a still prominent stigma in regards to anything against the norm and especially in a smaller town less exposed to things other than the norm, coming out to your parents in the same breath was even more so. One had been nervous and the other had been confident and reassuring, and as he watched the younger Mikoshiba’s back quickly retreating away from the family room and up the stairs and into his bedroom with a slam of the door, Makoto felt his heart hit the bottom of his gut like a lead weight because this was exactly what he had feared.

(Everything had been going so well; Seijuurou’s parents hadn’t been to keen on the idea at first but an overly enthusiastic speech from their son that left Makoto a blushing, embarrassed mess was enough to earn at least some sort of approval, and the red-head’s sister had simply rolled her eyes and complained about her brother stealing from both teams now and, ‘ _somehow I think he doesn’t even want us to get a chance at dating_ ’ and gone back to her homework without much fanfare.)

Seijuurou was only frozen in place for a few seconds before he took off after his brother and left Makoto standing alone with guilt pulling the weight in his stomach down even further.

(Why did he have to think this would be a good idea in the first place?)

“Come and sit, Tachibana-kun,” Seijuurou’s mother interrupted before Makoto could even begin to apologize for causing a scene and she pulled out a chair at the table for him to sit down. “I’ll get you something to drink.”

“Makoto-nii-chan can help me with my homework.”

(Makoto was no good at English, but it was a better idea than sitting and focusing on the brothers almost yelling upstairs.)

\- - -

[ _Sent ; 22:13_ ]  
I’m home now.

[ _Received ; 22:14_ ]  
Thanks.♥ Get some sleep. And remember it’s not your fault.

[ _Sent ; 22:21_ ]  
All those things he said though…

[ _Received ; 22:23_ ]  
Not your fault. It’s just shock or something. He’ll come around. He always does.

[ _Sent ; 22:24_ ]  
If you say so…

[ _Received ; 22:26_ ]  
I say so. Now get some sleep.

[ _Sent ; 22:27_ ]  
I love you, Sei.

[ _Received ; 22:30_ ]  
I know. I love you, too, Mako. Sleep well.

\- - -

Makoto wanted so hard to believe Seijuurou. He trusted his boyfriend. He had never had a reason not to, so why should he start now? Besides, Momotarou was Seijuurou’s brother, and they were closer than any other siblings he had ever seen, so of course the person who would know Momo best had to be Seijuurou.

It was just hard to hold onto his boyfriend’s confidence when he stepped into the changing rooms at their next joint training with Samezuka almost two weeks later only for Momotarou to almost instantly turn and leave with his towel wrapped around his shoulders the moment he saw the Iwatobi team. 

Nagisa was the only one to mention it, mostly because he was the only one who could match the red-headed first year’s enthusiasm and they would banter back and forth while changing about who was going to get a better time today.

(Haru was the only one who noticed the way Makoto’s smile didn’t reach his eyes.)

“Goddammit, Momo, you could at least pretend to be trying!” Rin was the first to call Momotarou out on his change in attitude for the day - second, really, considering Sousuke had been mumbling to himself about it endlessly, but the first to actually call the red-head out within earshot - but it only seemed to make matters worse. “Nope. Out of the pool. Now. I don’t care, get out of the pool and get here right now.”

For the most part, everyone just continued to swim as Momotarou pulled himself out of the pool and trudged towards his captain, but Makoto stopped where he was writing down times for Rei and Nagisa and Haru to lift his gaze and watch, wary. There were so many ways this could go and all of the ones Makoto could think of ended in hell - so he could only breathe a sigh of relief when whatever conversation Rin had with the younger backstroker ended in Momotarou grabbing his towel and sulking out of the building, opting to head straight out rather than towards the changing rooms because that would mean passing within close proximity of Makoto.

(Rin fixed his fellow captain with a questioning look in his eyes across the width of the pool and Makoto could only pull his lips into the best smile he could manage. A scowl passed briefly through Rin’s expression. Makoto sighed. He knew. Or, at the very least, had a very good idea.)

\- - -

[ _Received ; 19:09_ ]  
You infected my nii-chan. Leave him alone before you ruin him completely.

[ _Received ; 19:11_ ]  
Or I’ll ruin you.

\- - - 

The message haunted Makoto’s sleep that night, and it refused to leave his mind for the days that followed, weighing on him enough that even Rei and Nagisa had begun to notice that he was feeling less than his best. He simply laughed and smiled it off, blaming it on stress between school and training for the upcoming regionals and that it wasn’t anything he couldn’t handle.

(Haru interrupted their further concerns with a topic change and Makoto was pretty sure he’d never been more grateful for his best friend than he was that very moment.)

Even when he finally got to see Seijuurou again that weekend, the message was still floating around in his head - along with others he had received - but he didn’t mention them. Seijuurou hadn’t mentioned his brother and it was nice to be able to just enjoy time with him with a movie and dinner and cuddling on the couch of Seijuurou’s apartment in the next town over closer to the elder’s university.

(The kisses helped, as well, and sleeping in his boyfriend’s arms when they both passed out on the couch during a third movie was the best sleep Makoto had had in days.)

\- - -

[ _Received_ ; _06:27_ ]  
I warned you.

\- - -

Growing up, Makoto was used to being ostracized. He was best friends with Haru, after all; the weird kid who was obsessed with water and never spoke and tended to be avoided by everyone, so Makoto was generally avoided based on association. He made brief acquaintances the year he was in a different class to Haru in junior high, but that was as far as he got.

This, however, was something completely different.

This was some sort of hell.

_You don’t belong here,_ was the first note he found, shoved into one of his school shoes along with a tack.

_Fag,_ was the second, carved into the wood of his desk.

_Iwatobi Fag Club_ , was the third, spray-painted onto the wall of the swim team’s clubroom amongst crude drawings and the entire space a mess of overturned furniture and strewn-about objects.

There was not a single second of peace outside of classes; always someone close enough for Makoto to hear as they made comment after comment, things that he was definitely supposed to be hearing. But he never fought it or said anything back or made any real attempt to either confirm or deny the news that had spread through the school like wildfire, because it just wasn’t worth it, and when he saw even Rei becoming hesitant when he arrived at practice and the others were beginning to change, Makoto had simply given a weak smile and excused himself for the day.

He wasn’t feeling well, was his reasoning - a weak one, but also the truth - before he collected his bag and left Gou to lead the training.

(Makoto had to fight to keep his lunch down on the walk home.)

The next day wasn’t any better.

The third was worse again.

The entire week snowballed downhill, and by Friday, Makoto didn’t even have the will to get out of bed. He only woke up because of the usual good morning text from Seijuurou with a picture of the sun rising through the window of his bedroom and then another a few moments later of his still half-asleep expression and a, ‘ _Can’t wait to see you tonight._ ’

(Makoto smiled, then. Tired and weak, with large bags under his eyes, but still a more genuine smile than anything else he’d managed to show recently. The night before, he had almost been considering cancelling their date, but the photo was enough to get him up and out of bed and out the door in time to meet Haru at the bottom of the stairs to walk to school together.)

His phone ended up over the edge of the roof during his first break, courtesy of a pair of guys from his class. It barely missed a teacher’s head before shattering on the ground at their feet and the real perpetrators made no attempt to even consider coming forward about it, so Makoto was the one who ended up punished with detention after school and no way to tell anyone.

(It lasted the same amount of time as training did, though, so he didn’t arrive home any later than normal and he managed to dig up his old phone to use in the meantime, explaining away the change with a pathetic excuse of having dropped his normal phone into the pool at training. Between the lame excuse and the bags under Makoto’s eyes, Saijuurou was visibly wary, but he took it as it was and they enjoyed their night out together and Makoto was able to actually sleep that night, despite being alone in his own bed.)

\- - -

[ _Received_ _; 17:57_ ]  
You’d be better off staying well away from Samezuka. Your kind aren’t welcome here.

\- - -

Collapsed on the ground with blood trailing from the corner of his mouth, Makoto questioned what he did to deserve this. Was loving someone like Seijuurou really that much of a crime? Then why did their parents not mind? Why did his own siblings find it so exciting to have a ‘new’ big brother? Why did their friends just nod and accept it for what it was and never make a big deal of it? Why was one of the Mikoshiba siblings so okay with it and the other so very not?

A kick to his chest stopped the stream of questions in his head and tears that had been welling in his eyes for days, now, finally began to roll down his cheeks as he curled himself up as best he could; a foetal position the only thing he could managed against the verbal and physical onslaught of his pair of attackers.

He hadn’t asked for this. All he’d wanted was some sort of happiness and he’d found it in red hair and golden eyes and a perfect personality. Was it so bad to want the same thing as everyone else?

(Apparently.)

He’d done his best to avoid it, as well. He’d come with his team as though everything was okay, but excused himself while they headed into the changing room with the excuse of needing to talk to Rin first, and then headed straight back the way they had come.

But apparently Makoto couldn’t do anything right lately, because he’d been found and dragged somewhere he didn’t know and then the words had started, and the beating had quickly followed.

It was a growl broke through his thoughts this time, and a few thuds followed before a scrambling of feet and hurried footsteps and then everything was quiet.

A hand touched his shoulder.

Makoto flinched.

“Makoto, it’s Rin,” the voice was familiar and at the same time not, too soft, too caring to be the Rin he knew, but when Makoto finally uncurled himself enough, green eyes met red and he’d never been more thankful to see shark teeth so close in his life.

Makoto had barely enough energy to reach his arms out and loosely sling them around Rin’s neck, his face meeting the red-head’s shoulder, but his friend accommodated him and sat properly, his own arms wrapping around Makoto in return to pull him closer. The tears hadn’t stopped, only worsened, and sobs were accompanying them now, the Iwatobi captain’s entire body shaking and shuddering as all the emotion and weariness and pain he had been trying his best to keep suppressed finally escaped.

“I'm sorry I took so long, Makoto, but it’s okay now,” was the only sort of comfort Rin could offer with one hand in Makoto’s hair and the other pressed to his back. “I called Mikoshiba-buchou. He’s on his way to get you.”

**Author's Note:**

> So I broke my own heart writing this and no, there is no happy ending (possibly). I do have a couple ideas in mind for a possible sequel, but for now, take it as a completed thing with an unresolved ending and enjoying being heartbroken with me.
> 
> (Someone had to break Makoto in this ship. Chances are I'm gonna do it again.)


End file.
